2) Now, delete 99 of them

Pick your best. Get rid of the rest! That’s the discipline of great photographers.

(Pssst. You don’t actually have to delete them if you don’t want to, but at least hide or archive them away somewhere. Out of sight. Out of mind. And that way you if you later discover someone famous was in the background, you can sell it to The National Enquirer!)

Besides, all those pixels take up too much space on your hard drive.

3) The worst time to shoot outdoors

High noon is a great time to have an old Western shootout. But it’s the worst time to whip out your camera.

In the middle of the day, you’re going toe-to-toe with the harsh light of the sun and the sun will invariably win.

4) The best time to shoot outdoors is just before sunset

It’s often called “golden hour,” and the light is beautiful.

Light is coming from lower in the sky, shadows are longer and there’s more warmth.

And when the light is warm like that, it just gets better and better until it simply goes away.

But that doesn’t mean you should shy away from an overcast day.

Overcast skies create very soft shadows and even light, and that, too, can offer just the right mood.

5) The next best time to shoot outdoors is just after sunrise

This too is the “golden hour.” And the light is also beautiful.

There’s no real difference except that the light starts out lovely and then slowly gets worse as the sun rises higher in the sky.

The biggest negative: Who wants to get up that early and traipse around with a camera?

Well, I do, but that’s just me.

6) Hold your breath

Getting unwanted motion in your photos?

Then use this little trick.

Just before you click the shutter, hold your breath.

And then click.

Another technique to keeping your camera steady is to hold your elbows tight to your side. Now you’re acting as a tripod … or to be more exact, a human monopod.

Either way, you will be still when you click the shutter.

7) Get close

Unless you have a really great zoom lens or some other long glass, the biggest mistake most people make is that they don’t get close enough to the subject.

So ZOOM with your feet.

8) Use your surroundings to make it visually interesting

Look for ways to draw attention to what’s going on in your picture. You can do this with leading lines (like a fence in the background) or framing (like a doorway or window).

9) Crop your pictures

What’s important in your picture?

Well, if you didn’t zoom in with your feet to get closer, then you’re going to need to cut out the unnecessary crap that distracts from the REAL PICTURE!

You can do that with a simple editing program after you shoot (even your iPhone has one built in).

Comments

I have a painting instructor that says “If the art police say not to do it…do it anyway!’ Very good article. I am going to have to wake up early because we don’t ever see the sunset at our house. Too many trees on the west side! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Thank you! You offered so much insight and so many tips that I never even thought of although they are all kind of common sense! Thanks again for the expert advice. I’m looking forward to my next “photo session” lol